Top 5 Shows 8/17-8/20: Rap, Rock, Reggae, and Elvis-themed Clownery

1) Need a reason to wander around Deep Ellum on a Thursday? How about supporting Fort Worth bands at Three Links (2704 Elm, Dallas)? Royal Sons, Dead Vinyl, and Matt Tedder are on the bill, so it will be like you’re hanging out at Lola’s, except it’s Dallas. Not sure what the cover is, but the show appears to start at 9pm. I’ve probably posted this Royal Sons video before, but here it is again:

2) There’s a garage/psych-oriented show at Shipping and Receiving (201 S Calhoun) Friday night: Leopold and His Fiction headline with the Fibs opening. Doors are at 8, the Fibs start at 9. Cover is $10. Here is an article about LAHF’s new album, and here is a video from last year for “I’m Caving In”:

3) Local reggae punk rock doofuses Darth Vato (see disclaimer at the bottom of this) make an appearance at MASS (1002 S Main) on Saturday night along with long-time reggae band-bros Pablo and the Hemphill 7, and the added bonus of Sage Mode Wrex, a local rapper who I profiled in a feature back in April (“Meta Flow,” on April 5) opening the show. Now of course, I highly encourage to see PH7 and DV, because those are two bands that have been around seemingly forever and they are generally a good time. But for the “try something new” factor, get there in time to see Wrex. For whatever reason, local rappers seem to exist in an underground vacuum, and I think it’s kind of a bummer that it’s a rare occurrence when one happens to pop up on a band-oriented bill – how can we know if Fort Worth’s rap scene is any good if Fort Worth rappers aren’t given a chance to play in front of bigger audiences? Spend that two cents however you like. Here are the details: doors to the all-ages show are at 8, and Wrex kicks the show off around 9. Cover for 21+ is $10, more if you’re a minor. Here’s an old video of Wrex when he was with his old crew, Mount Olympus:

4) You know, you could just get a hotel in Dallas from Thursday night through Sunday (you’re made of money, right?), because Three Links’ Friday night show is also good – it’s bluegrass-related, with From Parts Unknown, Urban Pioneers, and Luke McGlathery, and on Saturday, Three Links across-the-parking-lot neighbor Armoury D.E. (2714 Elm, Dallas) is celebrating Camelversary IV. Local promoter King Camel enters his fourth year of putting on shows, and this party features beat lordz Def Rain, psych rockers Mother Tongues, a band I’ve never heard of called MIRRORBOX, and Talkie Walkie, whose influences include both bossa nova and Disney songs. Camelversary IV is 21+, free, and starts at 9pm. I really dig this Def Rain video:

5) Ever been to Fort Worth Live? I haven’t either, but it’s at 306 Houston St (hey look! It’s a show Downtown!), and on Sunday, it’s host to Clownvis Presley. Clownvis Presley is a parodic clown who dresses and sounds like Elvis, but you probably figured that out on your own. The show is $10. Here’s a one of his songs, which mashes the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song into “In the Ghetto”:

FULL DISCLOSURE/WRITER BIO ALERT: per editorial suggestion, in addition to writing about music and other shit for the FW Weekly, I am an investor in a venue/bar called Main at Southside, colloquially known as MASS. I also bartend there, as well as the Boiled Owl Tavern, a bar that also hosts shows a few times a month. And, since we’re on the subject of warning you against what may be perceived as my own icky, unseemly self-promotion and/or conflicts of interest, I play bass in the following bands: Oil Boom, Son of Stan, Darth Vato, and maybe, once again in the hypothetical future, EPIC RUINS. Sometimes I talk about one or more of those entities in this space, but I assure you that it has very little to do with my own vested interests; it just happens that the aforementioned venues and bands are part of the Fort Worth music scene, and this music scene is something I care very passionately about, as I have been part of it for the past fifteen years.

Since 1994, Fort Worth Weekly has provided a vibrant alternative to North Texas’ often-timid mainstream media outlets by offering incisive, irreverent reportage that keeps readers well informed and the powers-that-be worried.